It was once just a nightmare
by Colour-Of-Crazy
Summary: (SasuSaku) She wasn't always like this... She was once normal... But that all changed... She became stronger, but at what cost? After all, it only took her sanity. "I came to bring you back, then she will get better..." but how can he fix her when he, himslef is just as broken as she is...
1. Chapter 1: How it all started

_**It was once just a nightmare…**_

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Disclaimer: unfortunately I do not own Naruto, or any of the characters… If only… *signs dreamily*

**WARNING: MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!**

Note: (Starting at Naruto manga chapter 485 -end-) it would be easier to read up to this chapter before reading this or it might be a bit confusing, but if you don't want to or cannot be bothered, then I will summarise (but really my summary isn't that good so you may want to just read the real chapters or just read my story without it):

Sasuke has joined the Akatsuki to avenge his brother (who was ordered to kill his clan) by killing, Danzo (which he has), and the village elders. He also aims to destroy Konoha.

Naruto has fort and successfully defeated Pain, which resulted in the village being destroyed, so people are working on repairing it, Inari and Tazuna (who they met when they killed Zabuza – the old man and boy) have come to help with the repairs, as they are both carpenters.

Sai told Sakura she was causing Naruto pain, and Shikamaru told Sakura that they wish to kill Sasuke, so Sakura goes to tell Naruto (who is near the Land Of Iron, to beg the Raikage not to kill Sasuke), but instead of telling him their plan she tells him that she no longer cares about Sasuke and she loves him (Hinata has also confessed), Naruto tells her he hates people who lie to themselves. Sakura then goes and tries to kill Sasuke herself. She tells Sasuke she wants to join him so Sasuke asks her to kill Karin to show how serious she about it. But he tries to kill her, Kakashi saves her, she goes to heal Karin, Kakashi is about to fight Sasuke, Sakura tries to kill Sasuke -again-, Sasuke tries to kill Sakura, Naruto saves the day…. Yada, yada, yada…

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_**The beginning**_

The light was blinding as the Rasengan and Chidori collided, engulfing the space for what looked like miles. Seeing the danger in getting ensnared in the explosion, Kakashi turned on his heals quickly grabbing Sakura's small hand in his own and pulling her behind the large piece of rock where Karin was slumped in an exhausted, semi-healed, heap. Kakashi's quick action jilted Sakura out of her astonishment of the two teammates, or one teammate and the traitor, and forced her back to reality as they took shelter behind the column.

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**Sakura's POV**

I could feel the heat from the explosion even from behind the shelter of the column, a sudden great feeling of gratitude overcame me that Kakashi managed to snap back into reality when he did, or I would have been toast! I could feel the heat on my skin, but it was different then the kind of sensation you get when near fire, this feeling of burning felt almost as if it were made up of all the negative feelings in the world: hatred, sorrow, regret… Just the being near it made my skin prickle as though thousands of needles were stabbing into my skin. Then, as quickly as it had come, the light ceased to exists and the full weight of what had just occurred fell across my very being; the two people I had grown to love more than anyone in the world had just tried to kill each other, and the results of their battle lay in wait just around the corner. But who has taken the harsh punishment for the team's mistakes? Who has paid with their lives? Has my best friend, who I have come to consider as my brother, taken the altimeter fall for his friend? Or has the traitor who betrayed his village, his teammates, and his friends, just too kill his brother on the belief that that would bring his clan's brutal murder to justice, finally pay for his own mistakes instead of Naruto taking the fall for him? Thousands of questions ran thought my mind at once.

I urged my legs to move, _maybe I can heal them, maybe I can still breathe life into them_! But somewhere deep within I could feel my heart ache at the knowledge that even if they both came out alive we could never truly be team 7 ever again, we had all changed far too much to return to those happy times when things seemed so complicated, yet where so simple. No, those times will forever be just a memory etched into our very being, a constant reminder of the way things could have been, yet have become so unattainable over time, that remembering is almost painful.

My head was spinning and my legs were shaking uncontrollably, despite the lack of damage I had actually taken- which was very little. However, apparently this time I was the first to regain a piece of mind as Kakashi's eyes seemed to be glazed over and the upper half of his visible face was almost twisted in so many emotions: pain, regret, anger… He was clearly reliving a painful memory, until my attempt to see the outcome of the clash of power snapped him out of his flashback. I slowly moved out from behind the rock, though I still found myself leaning on it for support as I didn't quite trust my legs enough to support my full weight (which isn't even that much) without buckling under the pressure. Kakashi moved to stand next to me, whilst Karin just stayed where she was, clearly making no effort to move, despite her clear interest in who was the victor.

I could just make out two figures, barely standing, from the outside of the smoke, but as the smoke cleared I could see them. They both looked in pretty bad shape; both panting heavily and by the looks of it, low in chakra.

_This fight is over_, I thought as I moving towards the two boys, only to be stopped by Kakashi's gentle hold on my arm.

"This is their fight now, even with no chakra you know they won't stop until one has achieved their goal," Kakashi's tone was serious, but I didn't want to hear his petty stories about who's fight was who's, I'm part of this team too and wish to be treated as such, and I was just about to voice my opinion on the matter, however, as I turned to face him I could see the frustration in his eyes… He knew exactly how I was feeling, and complaining would only make it harder for the both of us.

"Sasuke, come back with us, or I'll have to drag you back by force," Naruto said firmly although his tone gave away hints of desperation, as though he was pleading for Sasuke to come back. This was all too familiar to me as, I too, had wasted my breath begging for Sasuke's return, with clearly no success.

"I will go back to Konoha, but only to destroy it, only to cause the people pain and bring about their suffering, as they did to me. Naruto, you clearly still don't understand the fact that I will not return, and you cannot make me: you aren't, never were, and never will be, strong enough for me."

"No Sasuke, the only person who doesn't understand is you; I cannot give up on you." And with that said, as if someone had shot some kind of starting pistol that only the two could hear, both began summoning new chakra… I immediately recognised the nine tailed fox's chakra, but the chakra coming from Sasuke was different: it was similar to the chakra the curse mark produces, yet with no physical alterations…

"This power, I thought it was just a myth... But ..." Kakashi muttered, eyes wide with shock,

"What is it?" I asked out of utter curiosity,

"It was rumoured that the Uchiha clan's eyes could be used to turn strong emotions into chakra, yet it was thought virtually impossible that that someone could generate such strong emotions that they can literally turn them into pure chakra," I simply stared in astonishment… Emotion... What are you feeling, Sasuke?

Both chakra signals were powerful, to the point where you could physically see them swirling around my teammates. Both of the chakras appeared to be on the same level, a kind of level unparalleled with anything I had witnessed in my life, but combined... It felt as if time itself had stopped and just waited for this moment, and now it was simply watching the show.

Suddenly a sharp pain erupted from deep within me, a pain so great it felt as if my very soul was being ripped from my conscience being in the most painful way possible. The pain was so unbearable that words will not, cannot, and should not be used to describe the kind of pain I was feeling at that very moment... My legs finally gave in and I fell to the ground panting heavily, hoping that air would extinguish the burning feeling I was feeling deep within me, but air didn't stop the flame that was burning me, only fan it making the pain even worse, what was happening to me? _Stop the pain_, was all I could think, my body and mind screamed for the pain to stop, but it wouldn't. I couldn't breathe at all now; the air wouldn't enter my lungs. My left hand grabbed the area of my shirt above where my heart was, in the desperate attempt to at least take my mind of the growing pain. My right hand balled into a tight fist on the ground, my nails dug into my flesh and a small stream of blood began to flow down my hand on to the floor.

My eyesight began to go fuzzy and I could only just make out the outline of Kakashi, who had knelt down in front of me. The limited eyesight I had began to dim at an alarming rate. Soon I was left in darkness, despite my conscience state. From the pressure on my shoulders I could tell Kakashi had a firm hold on me in an attempt to bring me back to reality.

"Sakura, what's wrong? Sakura?" that was Kakashi's voice, yet it was no more than a whisper now.

I was positive I was still conscious, as I could still feel Kakashi's tight hold on me, the blood dripping down my right hand, and my shirt in my left, yet why could I not see or hear anything?

_"SAKURA!"_ Now I heard that! _"SAKURA! Don't resist Sakura"_ a voice rung out of nowhere. _Who... Is this?_ The voice sounded almost sweet… In a bitter way, yet all the tones suggested evil_. "I can stop the pain you have felt for so long... I understand... You..."_ this voice... Was somehow familiar, as though in the depths of my mind I had heard this voice before... A whisper I thought I hadn't heard, but did... _Who is this?_ Broken laughter… A child's broken laughter rung in my head. I frantically moved my head from side to side in hope it would bring back the light I longed for and reveal who the voice belonged to. _"Sakura,"_ my name rung over and over, as though the voice was testing a new sound by rolling it back and forth on its tongue. _"He...heeeeeee...hee.."_ _That voice..._ The already unbearable pain began getting worse and worse, _"I can stop it..."_ The voice echoed... _No... Please. Stop... No..._ My voice broke out in mere gasps. My head throbbed with the ringing of that terrible voice over and over; I grasped my hair in my hands either, side of my head and started to curve over in pain. I could feel Kakashi's strong hold falter for a moment, before I finally welcomed unconsciousness.

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Thank you for reading... so what do you think of my first chapter, of my first fanfiction?

please review!

i hope to add the next chapter soon and i may rewrite this one again, but i will keep you posted on my account. ^_^

thanks again

Colour~Of~Crazy


	2. Chapter 2: The regroup and retreat

_**It was once just a nightmare...**_

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Disclaimer: …Nope, I still don't own Naruto or any of the characters…

Thank you for all the support, it makes me very happy ^_^

I hope the wait wasn't too long... here is the second chapter...

Note: this chapter starts with over people points of view of what happened, hopefully it won't be too confusing...

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**_The regroup and retreat_**

**Naruto's POV**

"Sasuke, come back with us, or I'll have to drag you back by force," I said, trying to sound firm and authoritative, in the hope that Sasuke could see his mistakes and return quietly ( we'll you never know, right?), I just hoped Sasuke hadn't seen through that, to see the true desperation I held for him to just come home.

"I will go back to Konoha, but only to destroy it, only to cause the people pain and bring about their suffering, as they did to me. Naruto, you clearly still don't understand the fact that I will not return, and you cannot make me: you aren't, never were, and never will be, strong enough for me." Sasuke said in his monotone voice, showing no emotions to the untrained eye, yet I couldn't help but notice, or hoped that I had noticed and not just made up in the hope it was true, the pain of memories we had all shared back at Konoha, he couldn't have really meant that! I refuse to believe that he truly thinks that.

"No Sasuke, the only person who doesn't understand is you; I cannot give up on you." I said despite the urge to yell "LIYER" at the top of my lungs.

Then with that said we both let chakra over flow our networks, both of us knew what we had to do despite our exhaustion. I noticed how Sasuke's chakra was different but that didn't matter to me, not now.

Sasuke and I had swapped sides as our power collided so I could see Kakashi and Sakura emerge from behind the rock, thank god they managed to get to safety, it was selfish of me to have gone all out and used the Rasengan without warning them first, yet it was unavoidable.

Then, just as a wave of relief washed over me, Sakura's beautiful features twisted with pain and I could see her take a deep inhale of breath, something wasn't right!

**Sasuke's POV**

I could see the dope's eyes grow wide with what I believe could have been worry, yet I felt no concern about what emotion it really was, all I wanted to do was kill this nuisance, then avenge my brother and clan. I have to admit though killing Naruto will be a worthwhile test of my strength, after all I have heard that he has gown well...

My eyesight was fuzzy from the use of my Sharingan, but I could still see Naruto unlash a kunai knife and begin to run at me, yet I couldn't help but notice his eyes fixed to something behind me... _Damn fool. Well I suppose if that's how you want to play this out, fine. Go to your team. I couldn't care less as long as I get my revenge._ I thought as I dodged Naruto's attack, moving to the other side of the space, of which he had previously occupied, just as he wanted me to.

I spun on my heel so I was facing the enemy, to reveal...

_What?!_ I thought, my eyes widening a fraction, I could see Sakura sitting slumped in the ground, her face twisted in pain, my heart jumped for a hateful minuet, then I regained my composer _still a stupid girl..._ I thought, yet my mind still questioned the unnameable emotion that had forced my heart to stop for a beat.

Sakura's eyes showed so much pain, her eyes always showed so much feeling... I didn't want to watch this anymore; it was bringing it all back, things I thought I had dealt with almost 3 years ago. _Perhaps I'm still weakened by emotions..._ I thought, glade to see Madara form in the sky to get me out of this... trouble. As I disappeared with Madara I could just make out Naruto's call to me telling me to come back... When will he just give up!?

**Kakashi's POV**

Why hadn't I had seen her pain sooner, why had I been so caught up in the fight to see her suffering? Only when she fell to the ground did I see the pain written across her face. I dropped to my knees in fount of her to see if I could find what was causing such pain.

Naruto quickly joined me beside her moments before Madara Uchiha formed in the sky and took Sasuke, Naruto shouted something about going home at him, but I was unsure that Sasuke had herd… And quite honestly at that preside moment I didn't care, something was wrong with Sakura, and that's all I should be focus on. I gently put my hand on her shoulders in an attempt to pull her back to some kind of reality, yet it clearly wasn't working.

"Sakura, what's wrong? Sakura?" I asked gently, but no reply was given. The pupils of her eyes darted around; she didn't focus on anything… She couldn't see... A few seconds of me calling to her passed but still no reply, her head began shaking from side to side as if she was searching for something. "Naruto, get Yamato, and the others if they are awake; Sakura sent them to sleep before she came here... Inform them of the situation and tell them we need immediate help!" I explained to Naruto, who stood beside me looking at Sakura worriedly,

"But I-"

"We need their help now, I don't know what's happening to Sakura, but I do know that if we don't get her back to Konoha soon she will die." What I said left no room for argument and Naruto was off in a blur if orange...

"Sakura... I'm sorry. You always try to take everything on by yourself, but you don't need to, I know we haven't always acted like it, but we are a team, and you know you can't kill Sasuke on your own..." I sighed apologetically yet my words didn't do justice to the full extent of which I should be apologising, I've been a terrible sensei to her and owe her so much... I can't let whatever's going on with her hurt her, as so many other things do. I don't want to fail at protecting you again...

**Naruto's POV**

Sakura must have learnt well from Tsunade, because when I found the guys they looked as though they had just awoke from the dead: their eyes still looked heavy with tiredness as they tried to stumble to their feet. I rushed forward and yelled each name to get their attention, their heads snapped towards me as they heard my voice.

"Naruto, what happened? By the look on your face, I presume noting went well, is Sakura okay?" Sai asked, with a concerned look on his face, which surprised me, I thought he was an emotionless bast**d,

"That bast**d, I'm gunna kill him if you haven't already!" Kiba added angrily, I knew exactly who he was talking about, looks like everyone wants to kill him.

"Something's wrong with Sakura, but it wasn't Sasuke's fault" I added quickly, knowing that having the entire ninja world wanting to kill him wouldn't make my job any easier, unfortunately.

"Yeah? Well it won't be my fault if he just happened to run into my kunai next time I see him!" Kiba almost snarled, Akamaru gave a bark of approval.

"Seriously guys, Sakura has been hurt pretty badly, and if we don't get her back to Konoha soon she might not make it. I don't know what happened, but I know it defiantly wasn't Sasuke! Now go meet up with Kakashi while I go and get Yamato!" I said, watching their eyes grow wide at what I said, they all gave an almost solemn nod,

"Don't worry Naruto, I will save Sakura with the power of youth, I would never let her youthful flame be extinguished!" Lee said enthusiastically before becoming a blur of green in the direction I had come, the others followed quietly behind him.

Now I just have to get Yamato...

**Normal POV**

Getting back towards the border of the leaf village didn't take that long at all, with their determination and worry of the precious female in Kakashi's arms. She was still unconscious, being carried bridal style by Kakashi, Lee was up ahead, "leading with the power of youth," then Naruto, Kakashi, with Sakura in his arms, then Kiba, Sai and Yamato, carrying a bound Karin, taking up the rear.

They had run straight for about 45 minutes with no breaks, each of them determined to keep going, for the sake of their cherry blossom. They were all tied now, as they had run perhaps the fastest they ever had in their entire life, yet each could only think that they could go faster; that they needed to go faster.

The sun was setting and the sky was an orangey-red colour, as the sun slowly melted into the horizon.

"If we keep on like this we should meet the border of the leaf village in about 15 minutes, but if we're lucky we might run into some border patrol, they can get us back quicker," Yamato assessed _though how much longer can they keep going at this pace_, he thought to himself.

"If we speed up we can make it in 5" Naruto breathed,

"Naruto's right, if we use the power of youth we can go even faster!" Lee added quickly,

"There's no way we can go any faster, we're all practically running on empty, and if we speed up we may not even make the border! If we stay at this pace it we can cut a, usually 29 minute journey down to 15, any further and we may fall short of the village." Yamato countered wisely

"WE DON'T HAVE 15 MINUETS!" Naruto yelled in frustration

"Naruto, yelling won't solve anything. As much as I hate it Yamato's right, we can't risk not getting to the village, we can speed up a little, but we can't risk going too much faster." Kakashi said finally, as he looked down at the fragile body in his arms, he could feel her pulse slow a fraction of a second, he could see the way she barely opened her mouth to breathe, and he could feel the way the rhythmic pattern of rise and fall of her stomach got slower and slow, _we need to go faster.._. He thought despite all he had said...

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**Meanwhile... (still Normal POV)**

Tenten, Neji and Shikamaru where assigned with border control as many ninja were needed for the repairs; also it would be especially dangerous to leave the boarder unpatrolled with the village this venerable.

Though, like many other things, it was far too "troublesome" for Shikamaru, however Neji and Tenten managed to drag him out there, as they too were assigned with border control, saying that they (or if it followed the usual chain of events: Tenten said, and then leaves the follow through to Neji) would leave him to watch clouds -which happens to be his favourite past time - next time they are all assigned to this kind of mission.

They were all sat on different branches of a particularly large oak tree, Tenten on the branch next to Neji, with Shikamaru just above them, scanning the area for chakra signals, which just so happened to be one of Neji's many string points. The conversation had reached a comfortable, extended pause, mainly because the two males of the group weren't really big on talking, and one cannot have a conversation by their self, so it wasn't a complete surprise when what little conversation there was came to a natural break as each person thought about something different.

Neji once again activated his Byakugan, and scanned the area for the fifth time in 1 minute, he was starting to wonder why he didn't just keep his Byakugan full activated to save the hassle, when he spotted a glimpse of chakra out the corner of his eye; the signal was far away, but it was moving quickly, as it got closer he noticed that it was, in fact several chakra signals, yet they were too far away to fully identify to whom they belonged.

"Chakra signals at 2 o'clock, moving quickly 7 of them and one ninja dog, I'd say the team's returning home." Neji told the others

"Finally! Hopefully they have sorted out that mess that Ino told me about!" Tenten said as she jumped from her perch in the tree, landing gracefully at the foot of the tree, "let's go meet them!" She said enthusiastically as she glanced upwards, making eye contact with the two males,

"Why do I get the feeling this is an order rather than a suggestion?" Shikamaru drawled lazily "troublesome," he added his usual phrase to the end as he too jumped down from the tree, followed swiftly by Neji.

"Something doesn't seem right..." Neji said under his breath, clearly forgetting that Tenten had adapted her hearing ability, after years of being in a team with him, to pick up all of his mutters of - generally disapproval.

"What's up?" Tenten asked, a hint of worry showing in her tone of voice, after all it generally takes a lot to make Neji worry.

"It's just that, Naruto went with Kakashi and Yamato, right? Then Sakura followed with Lee, Sai, Kiba and Akamaru. But then if they are all there, then why are they moving so quickly, with little chakra reserves," Neji began leading Tenten and Shikamaru towards where the signals where coming from, but not before a "troublesome" form Shikamaru.

As Neji got closer he could see more clearly the different signals, he could clearly see Naruto's red, fox demon chakra, making him feel slightly more relived that Naruto hadn't been taken by the Akatsuki, or what was left of it. He then noticed an unfamiliar chakra signal… _one for them is missing… _He thought, getting slightly worried for his friends.

The closer they got, the more defined the signals got, until his keen eyes noticed the weaker chakra, barely noticeable even to his eyes.

"We're going to need a medic! Tenten, go back to the village and tell them that the team's coming back and they're going to need medical attention as soon as possible!" Neji ordered as he sped up slightly, Shikamaru also speeding up closely behind him.

"Right!" Tenten said before spinning in the spot and heading in the opposite direction to the two males, back towards the village.

"Who's injured?"

"It's too far to tell, they all seem exhausted, yet one of the signals is very week, even my eyes could barely see it, though, I can identify that Naruto is fine. They seem to have taken a prisoner"

"At least that's something," Shikamaru muttered _I hope it's not too late, He thought_, hating the fact that he didn't go with them, even if he didn't particularly like Sasuke and wouldn't want to go with Naruto to beg some guy to not kill him, he should have known nothing would go well, he should have gone with Sakura, how could he believe, after all he had herd form the conversation between Sai and Sakura before he had entered (AN: Sai told Sakura she and Sasuke were causing Naruto pain), that Sakura had really gone all that way just to confess her non-existent feelings to Naruto. She sees him as a brother, for Christ's sake! Everybody knew that, including Naruto.

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It didn't take long for the two teams to run into each other, almost literally for some people, after all Naruto was so focused on getting Sakura back quickly, he failed to see Neji and Shikamaru running towards them, until he almost fell flat on his face.

"Hey! What was that about?" Naruto moaned as he barely regained his balance and avoid a rather embarrassing encounter between the floor... and his face.

"We saw your chakra signals, who's wounded?" Neji asked as he looked around the group, trying to spot the casualty,

"We don't have time to explain, one of you two take Sakura, you two have more energy than us, get her to the hospital as quickly as possible! The other should take the prisoner to the Hokage," Kakashi ordered as he stepped out from behind Lee and Naruto, who had taken the lead.

A wave of guilt splashed over Shikamaru as he stepped forward to take Sakura from Kakashi's arms, she looked so fragile, like she would smash completely under the tiniest pressure. _It's my fault, I was the one that told her we all thought it was best for Sasuke to die, I should have known it wasn't to confess her "feelings" to Naruto, or to tell him about our plan, she didn't stand a chance agents Sasuke,_ Shikamaru thought solemnly feeling completely responsible for Sakura's pain, I'm_ sorry, Sakura, I failed you_ he couldn't help but think as Sakura's body was passed gently to him. When she was safely in his grip, and Karin was passed to Neji, who slung her over his shoulder like a bag, they all ran in the direction he and Neji and come, Shikamaru ran about 10 meters in front of the others as he gained speed, Naruto and Neji were quite close behind him, seen as Neji had enough energy to keep up with his quick pace,

"Naruto, you can fall back now, we've got her. I promise you we will get her to the hospital as soon as we can." Neji told Naruto, clearly noticing Naruto lack of energy despite the nine tails chakra.

"No, I can't just leave her, she wouldn't leave me. Not to mention the fact that it's my fault she got like this, if only I had paid more attention to her, instead of Sasuke then she wouldn't have got this bad." Naruto refused, barely managing to choke out the words, _guess I'm not the only one feeling guilty... Troublesome,_ Shikamaru thought, sympathising with Naruto.

"Naruto, she's-"

"No. Don't you dare say she's going to be fine! I may not be the best at detecting chakra, but don't act as if I'm some naive child, who doesn't understand what's going on. I know she's in pretty bad shape, and I know that she needs medical attention right now, so save your comforts until she's at the hospital!" Naruto almost snarled out of frustration,

"I guess we should speed up then," Shikamaru said, giving Naruto a weary smile before he speed ahead. As Naruto and Neji got back into step with him, Naruto cast an apologetic glance at Neji.

"I was actually going to say "she's stronger then perhaps we had all realised,"" Neji said returning Naruto's apologetic glance,

"Sorry," Naruto sighed.

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Thank you for reading... Okay, this chapter was kinda just to set the scene, of emotions etc.. so i hope you didn't find it too boring...

Sorry TT_TT

I'll try to make the next chapter a lot better!

I think I will make the next chapter a little shorter, but the one after should be a little longer, but we'll see...

Please review and let me know what you think.

I've written the next few chapters so it's just a matter of when I have time to upload them.

Thank you for all those who have reviewed, followed or added as a favourite... it means sooooo much... thank you... :') you make me so happy... (Jeez.. I am really kind of pathetic... oh well) I BLOODY LOVE YOU GUYS, EVEN IF YOU JUST READ IT AND DIDN'T REVIEW... I LOVE YOU TOO! YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME!

Thanks again... seriously: THANK YOU FOR READING

Colour~Of~Crazy


	3. Chapter 3: Waiting

**_It was once just a nightmare..._**

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Disclaimer: I do not rule the world, and I do not own Naruto, or any of the characters… But all in good time...

Thank you all for your comments and reviews it really means a lot... THANK YOU :D

I'm sorry this chapter took a little longer than expected... :( I'm sorry, but school has been a nightmare (pun not intended) so i haven't had the time to upload... sorry:(

I would also like to say to Zuellni who said that Neji should have been the one to carry Sakura… and you're probably right! I didn't really give it much thought before; I just though hey, Shikamaru is there, let's give the lazy bum something to do. Thank you for your comment! I'M SORRY I DIDN'T THNK ABOUT IT! PLEASE FORGIVE ME *begging on the floor, cry streams of sand (sand… seriously?!)* Hopefully it shouldn't make too much difference to anything, but if you like I could add some hints sakuraXmulti ;)

thank you again for all the support and for reading! i hope you enjoy the next chapter...

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**_Waiting..._**

**Normal POV**

The hospital was crowded with, what seemed like the entire village, from screaming children, to jounin in need of a quick medical examination, about 80% of the examination rooms had been filled with _way_ too many people, medics rushed from room to room, trying to keep up with all the routine check-ups.

The hospital was one of the first building to undergo repairs, so it was almost as good as new- and right on the same spot as the old one. The effort to get Konoha back to its usual state was going reasonably quickly (partly thanks to Yamato's wood style he used to fix many buildings before leaving with Naruto and Kakashi); many of the inner village buildings had just been finished, yet there were still lots more buildings that needed to be rebuilt. So, the hospital had become refuge to those whose homes were yet to be built or repaired, and couldn't find anyone to take them in for a few nights.

On top of this: there were also many patients, fortunately most didn't have server wounds because of Tsunade's healing chakra that was channelled through Katsuyu (her summoning) during the battle between Naruto and Pain, many just needed check-ups and some needed limited medical attention, thankfully, so far no serious wounds in need of operations had come up.

* * *

Shizune had been mainly looking after Tsunade (who was yet to awake from the coma), however she did check in to the hospital several times to make sure things were running as smoothly as possible, after all it was difficult to run the hospital when Tsunade was in a coma, meaning she was looking after her, not to mention the fact that Sakura had gone running off somewhere.

Sakura had become a big asset to the hospital, and daily business always seemed to run smother when she was around, many it was the kind of atmosphere about her, the feeling of warmth and trust for her, you could always notice the change in the air when she was on a mission. Shizune had suggested she stop going on missions and instead work full-time in the hospital, but she knew the answer even before Sakura could respond, after all Sakura had worked too hard to just stop being a ninja. Not to mention the fact that whatever way you look at it Sakura worked best in the field... The suggestion was obviously turned down.

Shizune was just about to sign out of the hospital, when Tenten came bursting through the doors with a frantic look on her face.

"Naruto's team are back, they're going to need medical attention right away: we know for definite that one is severely wounded, that's a total of 7 ninja –one being a prisoner, and one definitely needs urgent treatment... Or something along those lines anyway..." Tenten said in almost one breath

"Alright I need one operating room set up, and an examination room, both need to be ready for when the team comes in, I want the best qualified or most experienced medics in the operation room and whatever good medics that are free on the examination room, let's get prepared for what we can!" Shizune yelled to medics who seemed to leap into action like wind-up toys as she yelled orders

"When they come, direct the seriously wounded to room 101 and those who most likely won't need operation to room 66," Shizune said slowly to Tenten who still seemed bemused by Shizune's sudden yelling

"Right!" Tenten said as she soaked up the words Shizune had thrown at her.

* * *

It wasn't long before the double doors smashed open once again (brand new doors, yet will likely need repairing soon...) as Naruto leaped through them his mouth opening as if to yell something-

"Room 101 for seriously wounded, room 66 for less serious wounds," Tenten recited, as if it were taken straight from a text book, and prevented Naruto waking up half the village - the sun was, after all, fully sunken below the horizon and the dark had begun to fall over the village. Naruto stared for a moment at Tenten before opening his mouth to speak again.

"That's on the fourth floor or the second floor," Tenten cut in again.

"This way Shikamaru!" Naruto called behind him before running for the stairs

"Won't the lift be easier?" Tenten called after him before Shikamaru and Neji appeared from behind the door, allowing her to see Sakura's motionless body in Shikamaru's arms. She let a gasp escape her lips, and then turned to see Naruto already half way up the first flight of stair, just in her view.

"The lift is too slow," he said, his voice portraying the seriousness of the situation.

* * *

**Naruto's POV**

_Tap, tap, tap, tap..._

The noise of my steady pacing was getting annoying; I had been walking in the same pattern for what must have been forever, and ever, and ever... But, hey, I now know that there are 357 floor ties in this row...

_This pattern is getting pretty tedious, even for me; everything seems to want to get on my nerves! _First I tried sitting in the waiting area outside Sakura's operation room, but the silence was getting too painful, it made me think... And thinking was too painful...

So I walked the same 357 tiles back, and forth, back, and forth... But the tapping of my feet in the continuous rhythm made me think... And thinking was too painful...

The medics around keep giving me funny looks... that one by the coffee machine at the end of the hall clearly doesn't like me being here...

_No Shizune I don't need a medical examination, for the 600th time!_

I slumped back in the highly uncomfortable chair, resting my arms on my legs and my head in my hands.

The others were all getting checked up down stairs, Shizune kept telling me how, I too needed a check-up, but I can't leave... She needs me... and I need her... If only grandma Tsunade weren't in a coma, she wouldn't mind me being here... She understands.

Doctors and medics kept running in and out of the room, I didn't look up though: rushing around was never a good sign, but if they stop, then I'll look up because that means either something great ... or a truth that I will have to confront sooner or later, but rushing around... That always meant something bad... Something unstable...

They kept running in and out, I can hear the shouting in the room as the door opens and closes, but I can't make out any words, the only thing I can hear is their damn feet!

_Taptaptaptap... Stop... Stop running in and out!_

...

It was silent now... The silence made me think... Really think... And it was painful...

I could hear steady footsteps coming along the corridor... _Kakashi... Kakashi walks like that_... I still didn't look up though; if I look up he might see...

"Naruto, look up," _Kakashi I though you would understand why I can't look up, you of all people..._

"Naruto, just look at me,"

My face feels wet, it's making my hands and arms wet... He shouldn't see me like this... It makes me feel so weak... Weakness... Perhaps this is how Sakura felt; maybe she has all along felt this because of me and Sasuke... We are always causing her pain...

I slowly raised my head to look up at Kakashi... He too, was in pain...

Sakura... I now know how it feels to cry silently...

* * *

**Normal POV**

Shizune had been rushing in and out of the operating room, telling Naruto to go to get his check-up each time she passed him, Sakura's condition was very unstable despite having 5 of the hospitals best qualified or most experienced doctors (baring herself, Sakura and Tsunade, who occasionally comes to help out at the hospital on serious cases) working frantically to try and get her back to some kind of stable state. Her heart had stopped about 3 times, just to be restarted by the doctors as the desperately channelled their chakra into her body, but something didn't seem right to Shizune... Firstly, it appeared that the only reason they couldn't get Sakura back to a stable position was because her body seemed to be rejecting the charka they pumped into her, in fact it was probably a miracle that they were able to restart her heart 3 times. Then, there was the fact that her body itself didn't seem to have anything wrong with it, it was as if it had just given up on life, _perhaps it was some kind of fit_... Shizune thought, still not quite able to shake this feeling of unease.

She re-joined the group of medics huddled around the petite female, placing her hands over the girl's body and slowly scanning her once again to ensure she hadn't missed anything important.

"We've got heart failure again; I'm going to need help!" A female medic at the other end of the metal operating table to Shizune shouted, Shizune immediately pressed her hands on top of the girl's hands: above where Sakura's heart was,

"Taro, I want you to go to my office on the first floor and get the scroll I left on my desk as quickly as possible!" Shizune shouted at an older man who was standing nearest to the door. He turned and rushed out without a word, moments later he returned with a large, old-looking scroll in his hands, he placed it on the tool tray that was on the right of Shizune,

"Thanks," Shizune briefly acknowledged before unrolling the large scroll and placing it on Sakura's chest above her heart, each medic proceeded to place their hands above the scroll and channel their chakra into the worn piece of paper, it glowed a bright green light and the swirls on the page appeared to come to life, moving around the page in a ripple pattern that almost resembled water. It took about 2 minutes for the strange light to dim and finally die down, when it finally had, an exhausted Shizune turned and addressed the other medics,

"We've die all we can now... The rest is up to her..." She sighed before leaving the room with the other medics trialling behind her, some off to take a well-deserved break after a long and difficult healing process, others were off to help the never-ending flow of patients.

As Shizune stepped out the room she saw Naruto and Kakashi sitting together, she approached them.

"you should really get more comfortable seats, these are no better than the old ones," Kakashi said in the hope if lighting the heavy atmosphere that weighted down on those present, "... how is she...?" He asked quietly, unwilling to wait any longer to know,

"We've done all we can, we'll just have to wait and see the outcome..."

"That's not good enough! We can't just wait and see!" Naruto exploded unhappy with Shizune's report

"I'm sorry, she is stable but that's doesn't confirm her survival, she might wake up, she might not, Naruto. But that's life... Sometimes people just don't wake up... But I will tell you this, Sakura's strong, she'll fight and, I believe she is strong enough to win." Naruto looked at Shizune in both astonishment and confusion

"she will be moved to a different room, you can go and see her in there, but I don't want you staying too long, it's bad for your health." Shizune said before heading back to the front desk.

* * *

Thank you for reading... Okay... I guess this chapter was a little short and stuff but hopefully this will mean that the next chapter shouldn't take so long to upload...

Sorry again... T_T

Please review and let me know what you think so far!

Thank you sooooooooooo much for all your support again! whether it's following, adding to your favorites, reviewing or just reading: i am very grateful to you! ^_^

Merry Christmas and dream big for 2013

Colour~Of~Crazy


	4. Chapter 4: Wait and Awake

_**It was once just a nightmare...**_

* * *

Disclaimer: one day I will own everything... but, today is not that day (I do not own Naruto, or any of the characters)

thank you all for your patience, I know I took quite a while with this one, but I've been having loads of exams recently. :( please forgive me!

Thanks again for all of your support and for reading! I hope you like it...

* * *

**_Wait and Awake..._**

**Normal POV**

Two days passed, but Sakura didn't wake. Naruto had hardly moved from her side for the fear that she would wake up in his absence, he had to be there when she awoke... He didn't want her waking up on her own. Naruto had even slept on the chair by the side of her bed, despite his fight against tiredness, he said he had to be awake just in case something happened and he was needed, but eventually he fell asleep, you could see the clear disappointment with himself for not having enough will power to stay awake... But who had enough will power to stay awake for 2 whole days?

Some members of staff complained that he shouldn't be allowed to stay past visiting hours; many of the older, more experienced medics just gave him the look of sympathy as they came to check up on Sakura's condition... The look you get from the doctor because they know the term "visiting hours" don't apply to you...

Sometimes you could hear him whispering to her... You can't quite decipher the words, but you can see the way her looks at her... Sometimes when you come into the room he won't even notice you, as though he is in his own little world where only he and Sakura existed.

A few friends of both Naruto and Sakura's would stop by every now and again, but Naruto would simply give them a nod of acknowledgement before turning back to Sakura. They would never engage in conversation.

* * *

Another 2 days passed... sleeping beauty still didn't stir, but on the bright side, her health wasn't deteriorating… she wasn't getting better either though...

Naruto still stayed at her bedside, the nurses would bring him food, in fact it was now in their schedule, alongside bringing food to the patients. Needless to say the food wasn't very nice, it's a surprise Naruto can bear to eat it, but he got by with the occasional delivery of ramen from his friends.

* * *

**Meanwhile...**

Shizune was with Tsunade (still in a coma), reading through a few scrolls, the day had been quite busy, considering the fact that she had barely done anything apart from look after Tsunade since she fell into a coma.

She had been in to see how Kakashi was handling his temporary status; he seemed to be doing okay, however there were few things to have control over, aside from the construction of the village, which seemed to be going quite smoothly.

She then had gone to check in at the hospital; manly just to look in on Sakura - and Naruto-, she had heard the complaints from some of the staff, and everything in her mind was saying that she should try and convince him to leave... But something inside of her didn't want to have too... She left shortly after, once she figured her help was no longer required for today, much to the displeasure of the doctor she had temporarily put in command, but that didn't take long to resolve, she just needed to remind the doctor who was of higher rank.

Tsunade rolled to face Shizune, slowly opening her eyes,

"...Shizune...?" Tsunade whispered, her voice sounded tired and horse

"My lady! You're awake! Thank god," Shizune said happily "I'll go and inform Kakashi!"

"How long was I out for?" Tsunade asked in confusion

"Too long! You've missed everything! You better get lots if rest, then I will get you up to speed!" Shizune said, rather over dramatically.

* * *

It didn't take long before Tsunade was back to full health and fully informed of what had been going on whilst she was out (it took a total of 5 days: 2 to get fully healed, and 3 to go through all the paperwork, which she just loved). Tsunade was exhausted from all the paper work, however when she heard of her apprentice's condition she found herself rushing to the hospital, Sakura had grown to be like the daughter Tsunade never had.

Naruto was asleep in a chair next to Sakura's bed when Tsunade entered the room, Sakura was lying in the middle of the bed facing the ceiling, just how she was put there 9 days ago, she looked like a rag-doll after the child has become bored and had enough of playing with in, and has just left her lying round, unheeded from the spot the child carelessly left her. Her face was pale, giving it an almost porcelain look, like a delicate, lifeless doll. Tsunade strode over to stand next to Naruto, Sakura's health report firmly in her grasp; she quickly flicked through it then placed it at the end of the bed, making Naruto's head snap up. His eyes wide with hope,

"You can fix her, right grandma Tsunade?" He asked his voice full of hope. His blond hair was messy and there where bags under his eyes.

"I was beginning to wonder why I had not seen you since I woke, you look worse than me! ... Have you been sleeping here? You know that even if this is a hospital, sleeping on a chair is still bad for your health! ... I won't know if I until I examine her myself," Tsunade sighed as she placed her glowing hands above Sakura's body.

"Well, she is still alive, but... Her chakra feels drained, as though she has literally just been in a fight, but from the report I got she didn't participate in the fight... Then there's this... It looks like a cross between chakra and some kind of… poison? How could the medics have missed this!?" She sighed as a frown made its way across her face, when she lifted her hands, still glowing, a strange black substance emerged out of Sakura,

"Could you run out and grab something to but this in, Naruto?" Tsunade asked as Naruto sprang from the chair and ran out the grey door. He soon retired with a small glass bowl; he extended it towards Tsunade for her to put the strange substance in it. As Tsunade dropped the substance into the bowl she couldn't help but stare, the substance looked to be a liquid, it was black however at the same time it looked almost see through, as if they were looking at something that wasn't really there, she lifted her head to see Naruto also fixated on the curious fluid.

"Well, I'll be going to examine this," she said, motioning to the bowl, "I'll see you later." She finished as she walked towards the door,

"But... Wait! How is she?" Naruto asked as he turned quickly to look in her direction,

"She should get better now." Tsunade said, a sweet smile creasing her features.

* * *

Another 3 days passed, Tsunade had sent the fluid to the examination centre where it could be properly examined. She then spent her time going through paper work and talking with Kakashi, who was more than happy to return the title of Hokage to her, whereas Naruto just spent his time with Sakura, who still hadn't woken up. As each day came and went, Naruto grew increasingly worried that she wouldn't wake up at all... But he would never give up on her... That just wasn't an option...

It was about 6pm and it was dark out, the door behind Naruto squeaked open routine check-ups again? Naruto thought, however when he heard more than one set of feet he couldn't help but look round in curiosity... there in the door way were the only people in the world that Naruto truly needed to see…

* * *

Thank you for reading!

I'm so sorry that not a lot has happened yet, but soon my friends... soon (I feel so evil saying that, it's sound like I am plotting to take over the world or something... though I kinda am...)

YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME FOR READING!

I've been pretty busy but I will update as soon as possible!

IT'S 2013 EVERYONE! HAPPY NEW YEAR!

thanks again for reading and all the support for you lovely people (could this be love?! okay... no, that's just creepy... but serious;y every time I get a notification for this I get a warm fuzzy feeling that makes me want to cry with joy... but instead I just go and blog about it - I have tumblr if anyone is interested)

Please review and tell me what you think!

Thanks again!

Colour~Of~Crazy


	5. Chapter 5: A dreamless sleep?

_**It was once just a nightmare...**_

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own £1,000,000 and I do not own Naruto or any of the characters :(

I AM SO SORRY FOR THE WAIT! I know I updated about two months ago so I am really sorry and am going to try to get at least one chapter out every month. Sorry, thank you for your patience. I HATE SCHOOL AND HOPE WHOEVER INVENTED IT IS SUFFERING SOMEWHERE!

Thank you sooooo much to all those awesome people out there who have read, reviewed, followed and liked! THANK YOU! FREE IMAGINARY COOKIES FOR ALL OF YOU!

Please enjoy. ^_^

* * *

_**A Dreamless Sleep?**_

**Kakashi's POV**

We had all decided that it had gone on for far too long, I was almost ashamed that I had let Naruto grieve for so long… so we decided that for one night, just one night; Naruto should get the break he needed, with the support of those who care: his friends… us.

They had all waited outside the hospital for me, and after exchanging greetings and nods of acknowledgement, we all proceeded to go up to Sakura's room, where we knew we would find the loud mouth blond.

* * *

His face was sunken, his hair was a mess (more than usual), and his eyes looked tried, they looked as though they had lost hope…

"Guys? What are you doing here altogether?" Naruto asked us curiously when he noticed it was us,

"We came to take you out for the night, silly!" Ino said happily, despite the sadness that was present in her eyes as she saw her best friend lying still motionless on the bed,

"You guys shouldn't have come… you know I can't leave her…"

"Yes you can. You know Sakura would be upset if she knew you were doing this to yourself! You need a night off! The nurses will look after her; after all it is their job!" Kiba said, followed by a bark of approval from Akamaru,

"Naruto, stop being so troublesome, we are all upset about Sakura, but beating yourself up about it wouldn't make her get better."

"But she needs me…"

"Naruto," I spoke up, I knew that Naruto wouldn't want to leave her, I knew how he felt, but I also knew that if he kept up like this he would slowly go insane… "Come on." Sometimes the simplest of words were all that is needed.

As though my words were law, Naruto stood with a sigh, glancing at each person in the group, we exchanged a look as his glance lingered at me, he was in pain, he needed this.

* * *

We were going to go to Ichiraku Ramen, but that would probably be painful for everyone at the moment, not to mention the fact that we probably wouldn't all fit, so instead we went to Choji's favorite barbecue place.

We all sat round the low table: me, Naruto, Sai, Yamato, Shikamaru, Ino, Choji, Kiba (with Akamaru), Shino, Hinata, Neji, Tenten and Lee. It was quite a sight to behold, all of us coming together to make Naruto feel better. Though, it still didn't feel quite right without Sakura, and we all knew it.

Soon the conversation got flowing, and we all started to cheer up… well, as much as could be expected for us.

* * *

**Meanwhile….**

**Sakura's POV**

A dreamless sleep..? Unfortunately, I wasn't quite so fortunate… That same dream replaying in my head, over, and over… the same broken laughter… the same voice… "I'm coming for you Sakura…" over and over… but why, why was it coming for me? What did I do? Who does that voice belong to? I could have sworn I had heard that voice somewhere before, I just can't put my finger on it… but I was certain that the voice sounded somehow familiar, somewhere at the back of my mind… a passing glance, maybe, a voice I never really took into consideration, perhaps…

I was in a dark room; I couldn't see anything despite my keen eyesight, but I could sense the walls around me, around 3 meters in front of me, 5 to the sides and about 2 behind… _How did I get here?_ Breathing was difficult. The heavy, still air weighed down around me as though the very presence of air was an abnormal accordance, as though this place was never made to hold the bare essentials to sustain human life…

Suddenly, I could feel something behind me, as though it had just appeared out of the heavy air of with I breather (with difficulty)… I could feel it breathing somewhere behind me, the steady circulation on air.

"Hee…..Hee….Tee…Hee…Hee" it was getting closer… _NO, NOT AGAIN!_ I could still feel its breath, but this time, it was on the back of my neck… the little hairs on the back on my neck stood on end as the close proximity I felt. "I'm coming for you… we will get you… let me in Sakura… you can't resist what you are…" it was so close, whispering in my ear, taunting me with its mere existence.

_Where are you?_ My head was spinning at 60 miles an hour.

"I'm everywhere you go, Sakura… after all…-"

_What? After all, what? Answer me!_

"Hee….. Heee… Heeeee…." The broken laughter rang in my already spinning head.

_That's not an answer! Who are you? _

"heee….. heeee…" A feeling of nausea washed over me, the heavy air felt as though it was chocking the very life force out of me. Every breath was pain in its finest definition.

* * *

A sudden blinding flash burned my eyes and rendered me momentarily blind. As my sight slowly leaked back to my eyes I could see that the dark room was gone, I was now in a small, claustrophobic room. As I assessed this new room, the first thing that struck me was, oddly enough, the absence of windows: there was a door on one side, but that was all where was, just walls, the celling and the floor, which you could tell where once white… but bloody handprints where now smudged everywhere my eye sight could reach. My nausea grew as I chocked back the vomit which rose to my mouth. They were all kinds of sizes, from what looked like a young child's bloody handprints on the walls, to bigger handprints smudged across the huge steel door with what looked like a million rusted locks on… where was I? I looked around quickly; not liking the atmosphere about the room (not that anyone would like this room); it was as though so much emotion were radiating from all around, leaking out of the very walls... pain? Fear?.. There was too much blood… what the hell happened here?! The smell stung my nostrils; I knew it well from, my work in the hospital, that metallic smell of blood… I inhaled sharply as though the oxygen was being sucked out of the room; the suffocating feeling of the walls closing in surrounded me making my breathing even shakier. The sinking feeling… sinking in that retched broken laughter,

"heeee…..heeeeeee…..hee….." that sickening laughter rung in my ears "give up now and save yourself a lot of pain… sooner or later we will get you… it has always been a matter of time…"

_I won't give in to whoever you are! I'm stronger than that!_ I was shouting… screaming… but no sound came out.

I could feel a strange cold and wet sensation touch my shoe-less feet, shocked I looked down to see a puddle of blood had gathered on the floor where I stood, I stumbled back in alarm to find that the entire room was slowly filling up like a blood bag from the hospital. I quickly turned to the door and tugged on the rusted handle. The door didn't budge, though that wasn't really surprising with the amount of locks on it… so I tried tugging on each of the locks, but my efforts went unrewarded… seeing that the locks were way too rusted to be pulled off I just helplessly banged my hands agents the door, hoping someone would come, that someone would save me.

I tried yelling for help but I still couldn't seem to find my voice… the blood was now waist deep… my hands banged against the door, getting more and more frantic, after all I wasn't a big fan of the idea for drowning in blood….

"heeee….heeeeee" that damn laughing was getting on my nerves! "I could let you out…. All you have to do is let me in…."

_It won't work, I'm stronger now, I don't need your help!_

Suddenly the door flew open; I could feel my body lurch forward not wanting to spend another second in that god forsaken room. I could feel my body impact agents something as I fell forward, shocked, my head snapped up… _Naruto?_

I was welcomed by Naruto's big, bright blue eyes and a smile from ear to ear. A lone tear slipped down my face as I sighed with relief. Naruto, the brother I never had, of cause he would always come to my rescue. I was just about to return his warm smile, when, just then I saw the pain present in his eyes… _Naruto, what's wrong?_ I stood back, and just stared in utter horror… I wanted to scream, but my voice wouldn't come.

* * *

Thank you all soooo much for reading!

I apologize once again for its lateness and what ever happens please don't sing the One Republic song "Apologize" I'M SORRY TT_TT

You guys... one day your going to make me cry! I love all you lovely, awesome people and send you imaginary cookies (unless you don't like cookies...) THANK YOU SOOO MUCH!

Okay, I know I'm rambling but I just want to let you know that I promise that the next chapter WILL be put up in under a month... I'm sorry I'm slow, I don't deserve you people.

I'm thinking about writing another story soon as well, but I'll let you know probably at the end of the next chapter. :)

Please review and tell me what you think, it really keeps me going ^_^

THANKS AGAIN!

(+ I'M SORRY)

Colour~Of~Crazy


	6. Chapter 6: A dreamless sleep? Part 2

**_It was once just a nightmare..._**

* * *

Disclaimer: *sighs* do I really need to tell you..? Yep? Okay, I don't own Naruto or any of the characters... :(

AND WITH 12 DAYS REMAINING! Sorry for the wait again. Buuuuut, Easter holidays are here! soooooo I have 1 more week to get some more stuff written of the next update :)

Thank you for all your support :) enjoy reading. ^_^

* * *

**Author's Note:** I have changes a few mistakes in this chapter as they were really getting on my nerves, (no major changes have been made)! I would also quickly like to respond to "Team 7"'s who asked when this would be updated: I have summer holiday soon and I intend to write as much as I can in my spare time so **the next chapter should be up soon**... thank you-again- to every one who have reviewed!

* * *

**_A Dreamless Sleep? Part 2_**

**Sakura's POV**

Blood had soaked through his bright orange jacket and one of his legs seemed to be hanging at an unnatural angle, his arms were suspended above him by a rope covered in blood… his blood… _I-it's n-not real… Naruto!? Don't leave me!_ Another tear made its way down my face as I reached out my pale hand to unzip his jacket… my hand shook as I slowly unzipped his jacket, hoping it was nothing serious, I knew I was grabbing at false hope, I'm a medic after all, yet my body and soul jumped at any shred of hope that I could make him better.

_Please just be a scratch, nothing more… you'll be okay… please be okay…_ when his jacket had been fully unzipped I quickly looked up at his face, still unchanged… he wasn't looking at me… I moved the fabric to the side… a huge hole was what greeted me, a huge bloody hole in him where his heart should be… I let out a chocked sob as I stumbled back. _Not real. Not real_. As a result of my shock, I failed to notice where I was putting my feet and soon felt my foot get caught on something, I felt my body falling to the ground, landing on whatever it was that had caused me to fall… I was hyperventilating now and my lungs where burning, I screamed at the top of my lungs. No one heard… fear ripped through my veins as I looked down to see what it was I had tripped over…

A mangled body lay below me; I jumped up quickly, making my head spin. The grotesque body was unidentifiable… Until I saw the katana lying next to it: it held the Uchiha crest on its slim handle… I closed my eyes tightly, _this isn't happening, it's all a dream! I'll wake up soon and see Naruto… he'll be okay and he will tell me how he fought Sasuke. He'll tell me how he won. He'll tell me he managed to bring Sasuke back, then Sasuke would come in and "hm" then he'll call me annoying. It's all a dream, it's not real! I refuse to believe this is real!_

"But it is… this is reality… your reality… maybe before was the dream… maybe you'll wake up in that room and find that rusty door locked… maybe you're insane and don't realize it… maybe I'm…-" _Lies! You're lying! This is a dream! And I'm going to wake up! I'm going to wake up!_

There was another flash… I was back in the dark room…_ It's just a dream… and I will wake up…_

I was back at the beginning… This was usually the point in which the dream replayed again, but this time I wasn't just going to just go with it. _It's a dream, and no matter what happens in a dream, you will always wake up again… even if you die…_

* * *

This time I didn't outwardly show my fear like the other times… this time I didn't even flinch when the flash came and I was in the small room… I didn't try to speak when the voice laughed; I didn't listen to its taunting… I just stood there when the room filled with blood… I calmly walked through when the door opened; not even glancing at Naruto's lifeless, hanging body… I made my way directly over to the katana lying unheeded on the floor next to the mangled body.

With one swift movement I picked up the katana and made a huge slit through my chest… I thought I felt pain… _but it's a dream… I'm not in pain… It's a dream… and I am waking up…_

"I guess you want to play then, Sakura… fine I can play with you… you cannot escape me this easily… you cannot escape reality!" the voice whispered into my head as I lay on the floor… _dying? Well if it was real I would be… but it's not, and I am alive… so alive!_

"I guess I'll just have to do this the long way… but that's okay… I didn't expect it to be easy anyway… I'll see you soon Sakura… heeee…heeee….."

* * *

My eyes snapped open, and I sat up so quickly that it was a wonder I didn't get whiplash. I looked around confused. W_here am I?_ The place smelt like chemicals and the walls where a plain white colour, the same as the floor. Next to the bed where I lay, was a chair with no occupant, behind it a steel door. Looking to the other side of the bed I noticed a chest of draws, which I could only imagine had my own cloths in, on top was a fully bloomed cherry blossom. On the other side of the chair was a window; however a set of heavy curtains (also plain white) hid the outside world from my eyes. _Am I in the new hospital? It would make sense, after all I wouldn't recognise it as there was the fact it was destroyed when Naruto fought Pain_. Slowly, I swung my shaky legs over the side of the bed and wobbled bear-footed towards the window, I pulled the curtain back, but the motion suddenly brought back all the memories from the dream… A solitary tear slid down my face. I quickly wiped it away quickly in case anyone where to come into my room, it would make me seem weak… after all, it was only a dream… but I still couldn't shake the terrible feeling deep within me…

It was dark outside, however I could tell it was the leaf village; _I guess they built the new hospital right on top of the old one… typical ninja… They could have at least made the effort to make the rooms more cheerful._ I thought as I walked over to the chest of draws, opening them to find nothing, to my dismay. Luckily the hospital gowns where quite long, though I was mainly just glad that they weren't the kind that is just held together by a few prices of string, actually it was like wearing the kind of big t-shirts I usually slept in. I quickly moved towards the door, not wanting to stay here anymore. I could tell I wasn't at my most healthy, however I wasn't just going to wait around for the routine check-ups; it looked about 11pm and routine check-ups don't usually start until 6am… _I really am that impatient, aren't I…?_

Once I was dressed I headed over to the door and tugged on the handle. A sudden trapped felling overcame me as I recalled the door in my dream. _It was just a dream_, I thought as, to my relief, I successfully opened the door. I stepped through it, the floor felt cold agents my feet, and headed towards where I presumed the entrance doors would be (if it followed the same plan as the old hospital at least, and so far it was).

_ I wonder where Naruto is_, I thought as the image of his suspended body hung in my mind… _but it was a dream and I'm sure he's okay, he's strong. I'm just worried because he usually waits for me when I'm in the hospital… I haven't been out that long, have I?_

So far I hadn't seen any staff patrolling the halls, which wasn't always uncommon. Actually it was very difficult to find staff willing to give up the few hours of sleep they do have to come to the hospital and work the night shifts, but, hey, the pay was good! I kept walking towards the stairwell at the end of the long hall (or at least I hoped it was). I had planned to go to the front desk, ask about the clothing situation, then ask about whether or not my apartment had been fixed, I guess I would have then gone home, or to my office that I hoped was here in the hospital.

The hall was long and my legs where shaking like crazy, so, not wanting to stop, I just leaned agents the wall for a little support and slid my right arm along the smooth white walls. _This hospital must be exactly the same as the old one, though I don't remember a hall this long..._ I leaned my head to the right so the top of my head also leaned agent the wall... _Why do I feel so worn out, I've must have been asleep for at least 9 hours, yet, I feel so drained...?_ Finally, after what felt like days I reached the lift. I pressed the button and it immediately opened, _guess there are less people about then I thought..._ I looked hesitantly into the small lift, suddenly feeling insecure about it... _Walking will be better to build up my strength anyway, _I thought as I headed towards the stairwell.

Getting down the stairs was harder than I first anticipated, but I eventually made it to ground level. _In the old hospital the entrance and front desk were at the other end of the hall to the stairs_, I thought, suddenly hoping they had changed the layout so I wouldn't have to walk so far. In the same manner as I had previously, I slid along the smooth walls, my head and arm both leaning lazily on the wall. My bare-feet made a gentle tapping noise against the cold floor, drawing attention to the silent halls... _Okay, I guess there are a lot less people then I thought_. The hall seemed to stretch out in front of me for what felt like miles... The tapping of my feet seemed to get louder... Suddenly, I stopped... _but... if I have stopped... Why is the tapping still going..?!_

_ It's probably just the staff_, I though as I slowly rolled my head round to the side to look behind me... No one was there...

"Cool it Sakura, you are just paranoid after that freaky dream!" I thought out loud trying to convince myself that I couldn't hear it... But I could... So I continued sliding across the wall as fast as I could, however the tapping was now out of sync with my own… I could hear it gaining... _I can't go any faster!_ I thought helplessly.

Then, at the end of the hall I saw him, but this time it wasn't a dream... The image of Naruto with the gaping hole in his chest and the pain in his eyes, despite his wide smile, flashed in my head.

The strange pattering of "feet" was almost upon me, but my legs were shaking worse than before and couldn't hold my weight. My body slid down the smooth wall to the floor, my legs were bent just to the side of me, and my body was rested upright against the wall... My head was spinning and my eyesight began to go fuzzy, I felt my body fall forwards...

I closed my eyes tightly awaiting the inevitable collision between the floor and my face... But it didn't come... I felt my face impact with something warm... I opened my eyes and looked up to see Naruto, tears were in his eyes and he was smiling from ear to ear, but this time he was alive... He was real... A tear rolled down my face as he engulfed me in his arms and held me tightly, "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you again..." I heard him say as I closed my eyes and let my tiredness take over me,

"Thank you Naruto," I whispered before I fell into a deep dreamless sleep.

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THANK YOU FOR READING!

All your reviews, follows, adds to your favourites and just reading makes me so happy. Honestly, I was really surprised that anyone actually started reading my story when I first started publishing it, and even around 4 months later I feel really happy when I get emails telling me I have another review/follow/favourite.

Seriously guys, it makes me VERY happy. (especially with the amount of time it sometimes takes me to update)

Okay, this chapter and the one before were originally combined, but I thought to get it out quicker I should split it, I had also planned to add something on to this chapter, but I felt that this was a good place to end it for now.

Next chapter will look at other people's POV

I have set myself the (final) deadline of a month again, but I am aiming to get the next chapter out before the end of this month, however I will have to see how quickly I can git it sorted (especially with school :( )

THANKS AGAIN FOR READING AND PLEASE REVIEW TO TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK!

Colour~Of~Crazy


	7. Chapter 7: Fragile

_**It was once just a nightmare...**_

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Disclaimer: No, no I don't own it, okay? ...I don't own Naruto or any of the characters, just so we're clear.

I'M SOOOOO SORRY FOR THE DELAY IN POSTING THIS CHAPTER, (and for its length... I will try and make the next couple of chapters longer)

BTW I have made some corrections to the previous chapter, purely because it was annoying me, but no major changes have been made.

+ I did put a respond to "Team 7"'s review on the previous chapter, but just so that it's clear: IT'S MY SUMMER HOLIDAY! :) sooo that means I can hopefully get lots written for this story!

As always, thank you all for reading and supporting :) it means a lot :) :)^_^

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**Fragile**

**Naruto's POV**

It didn't feel like we had been out for long, we were just talking, trying to keep our minds away from the big taboo, though we all knew it didn't seem right without her. It wasn't long before it was 11pm and the sun had fully set, allowing the darkness to cover the sky like spilled ink. I mentally hit myself for staying away from Sakura for this long.

"I'm sure she's doing just fine without you, and anyway, she wouldn't want you beating yourself up over this" Kakashi tried to comfort me, but I still felt bad about it.

Kakashi walked with me to the hospital. It was an unspoken truth that Kakashi and Sakura had grown closer (despite Kakashi's obvious favouritism he used to show towards Sasuke and I back when we were a team) in the time I had spent away, training with the pervy sage, she had grown closer to everyone.

We didn't talk much as we walked... Actually we didn't talk at all. It was silent but the silence seemed to feel right... It sounds weird, I know, but it was as though when Sakura is gone, so has everything else...

It didn't take long for us the walk to the hospital. As we entered through the double glass doors we were greeted by some girl at the front desk. She was telling us that visiting times are over; _clearly new here…_ I told Kakashi I would go on ahead and let him deal with this: I can't deal with new staff, and I already felt guilty for leaving Sakura, I didn't want to be away from her for any longer… so I left Kakashi to explain why we were there, because the women didn't seem smart enough to grasp the fact herself… so I began to walk along the hall, it was strange, I probably knew the hospital like the back of my hand now…

* * *

At first I thought she was a vision... Her skin was so pale, that for a second I thought she was a ghost... The hospital gown hung loosely on her, yet she still looked so beautiful. She was facing the other way to me (but her bright tell-tale hair gave her away instantly) and was leaning against the wall in an exhausted manner... She slowly rolled her head round to face me, but she didn't see me immediately... She leaned the top of her head agents the wall as she slowly drifted forward, putting one leg in front of the other as if she was only just learning to walk again... That was when our eyes met... Her stunning emerald orbs conveyed fear and relief all at the same time... I was rooted to the spot, still not sure if she was real, or just a figment of my imagination... _But God help me, if this is a dream I don't want to wake up_... She stumbled a few steps forward... But I could see how badly her legs were shaking; I took a slow step forward, finally managing to break the enchantment that had prevented me from moving... She slid slowly down the wall landing gently on the ground, her upper body still leaning agents the wall... Her eyes still fixed on me, as she began to fall forwards.

As though everything had slowed down dramatically, I leapt forward just in time to catch her fragile body from hitting the floor and shattering into a million pieces. I embraced her, unwilling to let go, just I case it were a dream... She looked up at me, shock clearly present in her cloudy emerald eyes.

I opened my mouth, trying to string together the words to express my relief, my guilt… anything. Yet, I could only choke out a measly apology of "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you again..."

At first it didn't sound like enough, but the way she looked at me made it seem as though I had just given her the sun and the moon, and by god at that moments had she asked I would have! I could see a tear well up in one of her eyes, but she was reluctant to not cry...

"Thank you, Naruto." She whispered softly as she closed her eyes. I held her tightly as she fell into a deep sleep, but this time it was different than before, when many people believed she wouldn't wake up, because this time I knew she would. I could feel her warm breath through my clothing, I could feel the movement of her chest rising and falling rhythmically... But most importantly, I could feel her steady heartbeat, beating in time with mine...

_Never leave me ever again..._

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**Kakashi' POV**

This woman clearly didn't understand the concept of checking in on someone you care about, even if it was night. In fact, she only stopped yelling at Naruto to stop (not that he heard anyway) because the usual woman who works behind the desk, returned from her quick break and had to explain to the new girl that we were allowed. She apologised quickly, and I began to head down the hall to see Sakura...

However, I didn't expect to see her quit as soon as I did; as I turned the corner, there they were... Naruto was embracing her tightly as though she would disappear if he let go... She was pale, drawing emphasis to the unusual colour of her hair, making her look almost like some kind of beautiful mythical creature. I walked over to Naruto, who didn't even look up.

"Thank god she's ok," I couldn't help but whisper, in the time Naruto was away training with Master Jiraiya, we had become quite close. In fact, there were times I thought of her as the daughter I never had... It brought me great relief to know she was safe, seeing her unconscious was so painful that there were days I wouldn't go and see her at all, I was too ashamed with myself, for so much...

I knelt down and put my hand on Naruto's shoulder, "let's get her back to her room, I'll go and inform some staff of her recover, but for now she needs rest," I whispered, so as not to wake the sleeping angel in Naruto's arms. He simply nodded and picked her up bridal style, careful not to wake her.

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THANK YOU FOR READING!

I'm sorry that not masses of stuff happens in this chapter, but I will hopefully add in some extra stuff into the next chapter to make up for it!

To be honest, this chapter was a little bit of a "reject chapter" which I wanted to put in but wasn't sure where: I wanted to leave the last chapter where I did as it felt more dramatic, but I didn't want to put it in the next chapter as it felt as though it disrupted the flow of it... so here it is... sorry :(

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HAS REVIEWED, FOLLOWED, ADDED TO THEIR FAVOURITES OR SIMPLY HAS BEEN READING! YOU HAVE KEPT ME MOTIVATED TO CONTINUE WRITING!

THANK YOU ^_^

Please review and let me know what you think!

Btw, I am in the process of writing another story as well so I hope to have that up online soon... but not that soon...

THANKS AGAIN!

Colour~Of~Crazy


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